Editorial: State election laws need to be updated

Nov. 17, 2012

Written by

Statesman Journal

Whatís next

Nov. 26: Deadline for counties to submit their election results to the state. Nov. 27: Deadline for counties to begin hand counts of randomly selected precincts. This is done to verify the reliability of the machine counts. Dec. 6: State certifies election results. Dec. 17: Oregon delegates to Electoral College meet in the Oregon Capitol.

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Oregonís Nov. 6 election isnít finished, but itís not too soon to discuss improvements for the next major election.

Counties still are tallying the final ballots ó ones with unclear markings, write-in candidates, or questionable or missing signatures. Meanwhile, the Marion County Elections Office last week mailed ballots for the next local election, Detroitís Dec. 4 special election on a new city charter.

Thatís how odd Oregon election law is, that a city can hold a special election less than a month after a statewide election. Marion County Clerk Bill Burgess expects the special election to cost the city less than $1,000, but the episode provides one more clue to why state election law needs a thorough tune-up.

Oregonís Nov. 6 general election yielded many lessons:

Vote-by-mail works

At least 81 percent of Oregonís registered voters participated ó below the 85.67 percent of the stateís 2008 presidential election but apparently well above this yearís national average.

State Elections Director Steve Trout said more states, especially in the Northeast, are showing interest in the Oregon system.

Oregon voting is accessible

Military and other overseas voters could cast their ballots by email as well as fax, waiving their rights to privacy but speeding delivery of their ballots. Oregonians stuck on the East Coast because of Hurricane Sandy could print ballots online, mark them and send them by FedEx or a similar service. People with disabilities could cast ballots via tablet computers.

Close the loopholes

Itís nuts that a temporary elections worker in Clackamas County could allegedly fill in votes on a few ballots before being caught.

Yes, the system worked in that the worker was stopped. But the incident shows the need for strong statewide standards, including a requirement that all processing of ballots be done in teams.

Meanwhile, it remains possible for an Oregon voter to be registered in multiple states. That can happen inadvertently with college students and snowbirds who spend time elsewhere. But there also is potential for deliberate fraud, even though it is unlikely on a large scale. Oregon checks its voter registration lists with Alaska and Washington, but there is no nationwide system. California doesnít even have a centralized state voter registration system, Trout said.

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Expect the surge

As long as voters are in line at 8 p.m., when the election officially ends, they still can cast ballots.

Marion County issued 650 ballots on Election Day, which surprised election officials. As a result, people in line still were voting after 9 p.m., even though the county had opened a fourth voting station at the Elections Office. Obviously, the county should have been better prepared.

And with county offices relocating when Courthouse Square re-opens, couldnít the Elections Office be moved to a more convenient location, with easier access and an abundance of parking?

Don't stall the results

Because people still were in line, Marion County didnít release initial vote totals until after 9:30 p.m. County officials initially cited state law, but the law simply says that results cannot be released before 8 p.m.

The state should clarify that results should be available as soon after 8 oíclock as possible, which is another reason counties should be prepared ó just in case ó to handle an influx of last-minute voters.

Clean up the laws

State election law is confusing, especially the decision to move the state labor commissioner and several other races from the May ballot to November this year. The statutes also contain references to polling places, even though they disappeared from Oregon in the 20th century.

The Legislature should undertake an exhaustive rewriting of election law so itís crystal-clear to everyone.

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